PEORIA — Several fights on North Knoxville Avenue and in front of the Gateway Building on the riverfront were broken up by police using pepper ball launchers late Friday and early Saturday, according to multiple police reports.

About 11 p.m. Friday a group of about 200 people began fighting in front of the Gateway Building in the 100 block of Northeast Water Street, according to a police report. An officer gave the crowd a verbal command to end the fight before firing. When the fight did not break up, the officer shot 20 to 30 rounds of pepper balls at the feet of the people in the crowd.

The crowd dispersed and then regrouped in front of Kelly Seed and Hardware Co., 202 Hamilton Blvd. The officer fired another 20 to 30 rounds into the crowd, which ran off again.

The police report stated pedestrians not involved in the fight were coughing and rubbing their eyes when the pepper ball powder was blown their way by the wind. No pedestrians reported being hit by a pepper ball.

The fight flared up again between the Mark Twain Hotel, 225 NE Adams St. and the Interstate 74 overpass. The officer fired another 20 to 30 rounds into the crowd, this time joined by another officer who fired an undisclosed number of pepper balls into the crowd, dispersing the crowd for a final time. Again, nearby pedestrians suffered irritation from the powder.

About midnight Friday, an officer in the 2300 block of North Knoxville Avenue saw a man being chased by 50 to 60 people. The man was tackled in the parking lot of the Knoxville Food Mart, 2300 N Knoxville Ave. His attackers began to kick and punch him on the ground.

After the attackers refused to break up, the officer fired 50 to 60 rounds of pepper balls a reported five feet away from them. They then fled, except for one male who kept kicking the victim. The officer then reportedly shot him in the leg and lower back with pepper balls, causing him to run away.

The victim reportedly did not talk to the officer before the officer saw another individual was being chased by the same group on nearby East Arcadia Avenue. The officer fired a reported 30 to 40 rounds of pepper balls into the crowd before the fights ended about 12:10 a.m.

When the officer returned to the Knoxville Food Mart to check on the victim, he was gone.

Zach Berg can be reached at zberg@pjstar.com or 686-3257. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.